Those last three K’s didn’t come easy for Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. But on a night that Kershaw himself admitted wasn’t one of his better outings, the 18-year Dodger notched his 3,000th career strikeout after 100 pitches on the final out of the sixth inning.
No sooner than Kershaw was in the record books did the capacity crowd at Chavez Ravine give their hero a much-deserved standing ovation. The game was halted for a few minutes as Major League Baseball and its fans would pay tribute to Kershaw who became only the 20th pitcher in Major League Baseball to hit the 3,000 K plateau. Making the accomplishment all the more rare was the fact that Clayton was only the 4th lefty to hit that mark.
Coming into the game against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night, all Kershaw needed to do was strike out three batters on a team that had struck out more times than any other ball club in 2025. It seemed like the task at hand would be a breeze. But it wasn’t.
“It’s a little bit harder when you’re trying to strike people out,” Kershaw told reporters. “I never really had to do that before.”
In fact, that last batter Kershaw faced in the sixth was going to be his last, no matter what the outcome. Leave it to Clayton to buckle down on his final pitch of the night. An 85mph slider nipped the corner of the plate and froze Vinny Capra like a statue as he struck out looking. And with that, the celebration began.
“Just super thankful for tonight, super thankful for my teammates,” Kershaw said. “I told my teammates individual awards are great, but if you don’t have anybody to celebrate with it doesn’t matter.”
When Kershaw left the game after six, the Dodgers were down to Chicago 4-2. That score would remain the same going into the ninth inning.
Coming up in the bottom of the ninth, it was as if the Dodgers were not going to allow a loss to spoil an otherwise magical evening. As they had done on a league leading clip all year, the Dodgers found a way to come from behind to secure the victory. Los Angeles tied the game up 4-4 on a Mookie Betts flyball to center. Ohtani who had reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second to put himself into scoring position. Two batters later, Freddie Freeman would single to right field, scoring Shohei, to give the Dodgers their 55th victory of the season and cap off a historical night.
On a grim note, moments before Kershaw would get the record, Max Muncy was involved in a collision at third base with White Sox Michael A. Taylor, who was thrown out attempting to steal third base. In obvious pain, Muncy was stretched out on the third base line before having to be carried off the field with a knee injury. An MRI is scheduled for Thursday to determine the severity of the injury, but it’s certain that Muncy is going to be place on the IL until further notice.
“A lot of the tests that they did right now, we feel optimistic,” Roberts said. “And I think that our hope is that it’s a sprain. So obviously, for the next few days, I’m sure he’ll probably be down, but again, the MRI will show more.”
By William Trillo
